NCIS: The More They Stay the Same
by azraelrevisited
Summary: Sequel to NCIS: The More Things Change (might want to read that first.) Continues immediately after that story ends. Slash relationship, nothing graphic, but if you don't like that sort of thing, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: See profile for full disclaimer. This is (finally) the sequel to NCIS: The More Things Change. You probably want to read that first or this won't make a lot of sense - especially this first chapter. I know I left you hanging at the end of that one but hopefully this will be worth the wait. This first chapter is kind of short (sorry) but I hope to update fairly regularly – yeah, yeah – you've heard _that_ before. SO – here we go!

Chapter 1

Somebody was screaming.

Maybe he should go help but he could hear the sirens. That meant help was on the way, right? But somebody was _screaming_. It must be pretty bad. Maybe they were hurt really bad. Or maybe someone else was hurt – or dead. He should go help.

But if he was going to help he would have to get out of bed. Wait. How did he get in bed? Was he in bed? He had been sleeping (until the _screaming_ woke him up) so he must be in bed. The sirens were louder now – that meant help was near. He could just go back to sleep. But _somebody_ was _screaming_.

Somebody was talking to him but he couldn't understand them (because of the _screaming_ – they really needed to do something about that.) Calm down? What did that mean? He was sleeping – how much calmer could he get?

Hands. Holding him down. They needed to stop. Then he opened his eyes.

Lights. Sirens. People. People shouting. And someone was still screaming.

Then he realized that that someone was him.

The voices were starting to come through a little clearer. Calm down, they said again and again. We're going to get you out. Out? Out of where? Wasn't he in bed? Wasn't he sleeping? No. No. He was in the car. _They _were in the car. Going away together… somewhere. Wait _they_ were in the car. Where is he? Where is he?

He has to find him. Where is he? Calm down, they say again. You're going to be okay. We have to get you out first. Then we can work on getting your friend out.

He tries to speak, to ask, but his voice isn't working. But they seem to understand. He's alive, they say. We're going to get both of you out and get you to a hospital. Then they give him something in the IV he didn't even know he had. And finally the screaming stops.

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He hears screaming. Then it stops. There's a lot of noise. Sirens. Horns. And the screaming. But it stopped so that's good.

He's cold. His husband is a blanket thief. Every night, he steals the covers. He tries to roll over, to snuggle closer (he's pretty sure that's why the covers get stolen, to force the cuddling, though his husband would never admit it.) But something's wrong. He can't move.

Voices. What are they saying? It's okay? What's okay? Is he tied down? Has he been kidnapped? Why can't he move? He begins to struggle.

Hands. Lots of hands. Holding him down. The voices are back, too. Calm down, they say. He's afraid. Oh, God. He's crying. No, no crying. He's not going to cry but the tears keep falling. Then he opens his eyes.

Lights. Sirens. Noise. People over him. And he remembers. They were in the car. Going on a trip. And..and what? What happened? Where was…? In a panic, he looks at the seat next to him and sees…nothing. Where is he? Where is his husband?

The voices are back. He's okay, they say. Already on the way to the hospital. You're just taking a little longer to get free. Then they say something about an IV and he feels a little stick. And he closes his eyes.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: See profile for full disclaimer. Thanks for the reviews and favorites!

Chapter 2

Tim McGee was tired. No, he was exhausted. He hadn't slept in over 24 hours, not since he got the call. Abby was falling apart, the MCRT wanted to investigate something, but DC Metro had already told them that the other driver was dead of an apparent heart attack. There was nothing to investigate – it was just a sad and senseless tragedy. He was worried about Ducky – the old ME actually looked his age when he had interpreted the doctors' reports on their two friends.

Everyone else was gathered in the family room that Bethesda had provided for them after all of the agents from just about every alphabet out there plus cops plus Senators and Congressman had pretty much taken over the waiting room. The President had even called! Tim shook his head. The President. Too bad Tony wasn't awake for the call. And that was the problem – Tony wasn't awake.

In one way, Tim was glad that Tony hadn't awakened. The longer he stayed out of it, the longer Tim had to figure out what to say. But Tim knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before Tony opened his eyes. He was beginning to shift, his brow furrowing in pain when he tried to move. It was only a matter of time before he woke up and Tim would have to tell him everything.

It wasn't fair, really. Tony had worked so hard, had already come through so much. Tim didn't know if his friend could handle much more. Even the strongest man had his breaking point. Still, Tony had a habit of overcoming even the worst of tragedies. Hopefully he had it in him to make it through one more.

So Tim sat. He wouldn't even go to the bathroom unless someone else was in the room. Nobody wanted Tony to wake up alone. Everyone knew that when he opened his eyes, he would expect to see Gibbs. They were afraid that he might hurt himself when he realized that his husband, who had virtually moved in when Tony had been injured in the past, was not there. Tim sighed, remembering that day four years ago when everyone's life had changed.

_FLASHBACK_

_Tim and Ziva sat in the waiting room, Tim still covered in blood, Tony's blood. Gibbs was pacing like a caged animal, his gaze shifting between the ER doors and Tim. Tim was terrified because he knew that sooner or later Gibbs was going to want to know what happened and Tim was going to have to tell him._

_Intellectually, Tim knew that there was nothing that either of them could have done. They had crappy intel. But maybe if Tim hadn't slowed them down by resisting Tony's orders, things may have turned out differently. Probably not, though. The guy had been waiting on them. Someone had to have tipped him off. Tim didn't even see him but Tony did – just in time to push Tim out of the way. Tony had tried to save himself but didn't have enough time. The shotgun blast had caught him in the left leg._

_Tim swallowed convulsively at the thought. The shot had torn the older man's leg to shreds and yet Tony still had the presence of mind to return fire, hitting the assailant in the throat. Not knowing if there were others nearby, Tim pulled Tony behind a crate and called Gibbs for backup. After that, things got a little hazy. He wanted to put pressure on Tony's wounds, needed to, but there was no way to do it. The whole lower half of his leg was a horrible bloody mess. Not knowing what else to do, he held his weapon in one hand while keeping his other hand on Tony's shoulder, just to let him know that he wasn't alone, and waited for help to arrive._

Tim started awake. He hadn't meant to drift off. Rubbing his hands over his face, he jumped when he heard a hoarse voice say, "You look like crap, Probie."

Tim's eyes shot open. "Tony!" he exclaimed. "You're awake."

"Awesome powers of observation. What the hell happened?"

"Let me call the nurse, okay? You want some water?" Tim reached for the call button but Tony stopped him.

"Tell me now, Probie."

Tim hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "You were in a car accident. Guy apparently had a heart attack behind the wheel and came through the light. You got T-boned on your side."

"Crap. I guess the Beemer's toast, huh." Tony looked at Tim, the other man's nervousness clear in his manner. Swallowing he asked, "How bad?"

Tim looked down. "I'm sorry, man. They did all they could, but there was just too much damage. I probably should have waited on the doctor or Ducky to come in before I said anything, but I know that you wouldn't have waited."

Tony didn't say a word, but the look of grief on his face nearly did Tim in. "Let me get the doctor, Tony," he said. "He can explain it a lot better than I can. I'll stay in here if you want me to, if you need somebody, I mean."

Tony turned his face away and said quietly, "No. No doctor. Not right now. I need to be by myself now, okay?"

Tim nodded, even though Tony wasn't looking at him. "I'll just go and tell the others that you're awake. Ducky can go tell Gibbs and…"

"Wait!" Tony interrupted. "What do you mean 'go tell Gibbs'? I thought you said there was too much damage, I thought… I thought…"

"Tony! Calm down! Oh, God, no! Gibbs is fine. Well, not exactly fine, but he will be. He's pissed off because you're in separate rooms, but now that you're awake they might move you into his room. God, Tony, I'm sorry. I didn't think." He frowned. "And honestly, do you really think I would have been that blunt if Gibbs was dead?

"So what the hell were you talking about?"

"Your leg, Tony."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Full disclaimer on profile page. In short, ain't mine. Thanks for all the reviews and alerts.

Chapter 3

Jethro Gibbs _was _pissed. He wanted, no needed, to see his husband and they wouldn't let him. They told him that Tony wasn't conscious yet but that didn't matter. Every time that Tony had ended up in the hospital, Gibbs was there when the younger man woke up. If Gibbs wasn't there, Tony would be upset, fearing the worst. If he could, he would sign himself out AMA and go straight to Tony's room. However, he knew that if he tried to get out of bed, he would fall flat on his face.

None of his injuries were really severe on their own, but the combined impact was pretty impressive. He was beyond sore and could barely sit up much less stand. His knee was the worst, a severe sprain that was going to keep him off of his feet for a while. He sighed. Ducky had gone to speak to Tony's doctor, to find out if there were any change. They had no idea how Tony was going to react when he woke up. Gibbs was just glad that Tim had promised that there was no way that Tony would be left alone. Sighing again, he tried to relax and wait for Ducky to return.

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Tony shifted in the bed, wincing as his injuries made themselves known. "What about my leg, Probie?" he asked.

Tim hesitated, trying to figure out how to tell Tony the news, but before he could say anything, Tony continued quietly, "I know it's gone, Tim. Figured that out pretty quick after I woke up."

"I guess it was kind of obvious when you looked down," Tim said.

Tony shook his head. "Haven't looked yet. Not sure I'm ready for that. Um, do you think you could call the nurse?"

Tim hit the call button and told the nurse that answered that Tony was awake, then asked Tony "So how did you know if you didn't look?"

"It didn't hurt. Don't get me wrong, I'm in a lot of pain right now so I really hope that nurse gets here soon, but it's different. The pain I've been feeling for the last four years is gone."

Before Tim could say anything else, Ducky came in, followed by a nurse and Tony's doctor. "Anthony, my boy, you gave us a bit of a scare," Ducky said. "We were beginning to get worried. It reminded me of a time…"

"How's Jethro?" Tony interrupted. "Is he okay? Tim said he was fine but I need to know."

"Calm down, Anthony. Jethro _will_ be fine in time. He has a slight concussion, numerous cuts and bruises, three cracked ribs and a badly sprained knee. Ordinarily, he would be up and about on crutches in a day or so, but with the ribs he will have to be confined to a wheelchair for at least two weeks, until he can put weight on his leg."

"I need to see him, Duck. Please. I need to _see_ that he's okay."

"Let Dr. Franklin see to you first, Anthony. Timothy will go give Jethro an update and then Dr. Franklin and I will see about getting you and your husband in the same room."

Tony sighed, realizing that he was unfortunately a captive audience. He saw the nurse inject something into his IV and knew that he wasn't going to last too long before the dose of painkillers sent him back to sleep. "So, what's the damage?"

"Like Jethro, you have multiple contusions, primarily on the left side, although you somehow managed to avoid a concussion. Your left shoulder was dislocated…"

"Explains why my arm's strapped to my chest."

"Yes, and as you know, the worst of the damage for you was to your left leg."

"How much do I have left, Ducky?"

"They amputated just above the knee."

Tony closed his eyes. He had hoped that he still had the knee, but wasn't surprised that they had to take it. The damage from before was from the knee down. He wanted to ask some more questions, but the pull of the drugs was just too strong and he drifted off to sleep.

"He seemed to take the news well," commented Dr. Franklin as he checked over his now sleeping patient.

Ducky shook his head. "I'm afraid, my friend, that that may have been the calm before the storm."

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Gibbs heard his door open and without looking he said, "It's about time, Duck. What's going on? Is he awake?"

"It's me, Gibbs," Tim said. "Ducky and Dr. Franklin are with Tony. Ducky sent me to give you a sit rep." At Gibbs' glare, he continued. "He's awake, at least he was when I left. But I saw the nurse put something in his IV so he may be out again by now."

"Does he know about his leg?"

"Yeah, I didn't even have to tell him. He said he knew it was gone because he didn't hurt anymore. I mean, he's in pain from the other injuries, but he says the leg pain is nothing compared to what he was feeling before."

"He's not upset? You know how Tony is – he never lets you know how he really feels."

"He's more worried about you, I think. And before you ask, Ducky and Dr. Franklin are going to see about getting you both in the same room." Tim stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "He's focused on you right now, but I'm afraid that when reality sets in, he's going to freak out."

Gibbs sighed. He was thinking the same thing. "He's probably going to try to push us all away. You know how he is. But we won't let him. We'll be right by his side, just like before."

Tim frowned, remembering the first few weeks after Tony's injury.

_FLASHBACK:_

_Tony had been in the hospital for three weeks before they moved him to the rehab facility. He had been there for almost a month, and everyone had been there for him (especially Gibbs) except for Tim McGee. Sure Tim had visited in the hospital, when Tony was still too drugged up to know what was going on, but as Tony recovered, Tim's visits had gotten farther and farther apart. Finally, Gibbs had enough._

_Tim and Ziva were at their desks working on paperwork when Gibbs stormed into the bullpen. "McGee. Conference room. Now," he said, heading toward the elevator._

_Ziva looked at Tim, who shrugged, no idea what he'd done to piss off Gibbs this time. Although, since Tony had been gone, it didn't take much to get on Gibbs' bad side. He entered the elevator and waited for the lead agent to his the emergency stop. "What's your problem, McGee?"_

_Tim was confused. He had no idea what Gibbs was talking about. Before he could say anything, Gibbs continued, "Tony said you haven't been to see him since he went into rehab. Everybody has been to see him, McGee, even Frank from the mailroom. Hell, even Ron Sacks has been to see him. But for some reason you, his partner, have not been there. So again, what's your problem?"_

_Tim had no idea if Tony had told Gibbs what had happened in the warehouse. He didn't put Tim's little rebellion in his report and Tim was pretty sure that Gibbs would have torn him a new one if he'd known that Tim had questioned Tony. "I didn't think he'd want to see me," Tim said. "If he hadn't pushed me out of the way, he could have saved himself."_

_Gibbs gave Tim the mother of all head slaps. "Don't be an idiot! He doesn't blame you. He's worried as hell about you 'cause you haven't been there. He thinks we've been lying to him, that you were really hurt and we just don't want to tell him."_

"_But I saw him in the hospital, talked to him and…"_

"_He was on some pretty heavy drugs then, McGee. He apparently had conversations with Kate and his mom, too, so he's not really sure what was real and what wasn't. Go see him, McGee. Today. That is not a request."_

_END FLASHBACK_

"Tim? You okay?"

Gibbs' voice brought Tim back to reality. "Yeah, Gibbs. Just thinking," he said. "You know, last time, I really wasn't there for him. Sure I visited, but not like I should have. I only went often enough to keep you off my case. I blamed myself and I let that blame turn into resentment, and then I let that resentment twist me into a really arrogant jerk. It was easier to blame him, make it his fault that everything fell apart. So no, Gibbs. It's not going to be like last time. This time, I will be there for him, for both of you. You have my word."

He stopped, looking Gibbs in the eye, waiting for his reaction. And Gibbs smiled.

"Attaboy, Tim."

TBC


End file.
